Feeding device



C. T. BLUME FEEDING DEVICE Jan. 31, 195% 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 12, 1946 R m w M Jam 311 195% c. T. BLUME 2,495,885

FEEDING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 12, 1946 20 v /0 /2 26 6 /3 y fi 7%" Patented Jan. 31, 1950 antes FEEDING DEVICE Carl T. Blume, West Newton, Mass., assignor to Raytheon Manufacturing Company, Newton, Mass, a corporation of Delaware Application April 12, 1946, Serial No. 661,657

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a feeding device, and more particularly to an apparatus for automatically feeding predetermined lengths of thin metallic ribbon or wire to a shearing, punching, or forming tool.

An object of the invention is to devise a feeding apparatus which will feed uniform lengths of stock to a machine tool.

Another object is to provide a feed device which will not injure the stock fed.

A further object is to devise a feeding device which is readil adjustable. for different thicknesses of stock and for different lengths to be fed, as well as for different tensions of the spool from which the stock is to be fed.

The foregoing and other objects of the present invention will be best understood from the following description of an exemplification thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective View of the device;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the device, showing it in one position of movement;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the device, showing it in another position of movement; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, the device i includes a cast base portion 2 which is adapted to be rigidly mounted on a, table or other support. Integral with base portion 2 is an elongated guiding portion 3 of channel shape in cross-section, which provides upper and lower horizontal guide faces 4 and 5, respectively, and vertical guide face 5. Mounted for sliding movement in this fixed guideway is a plate 1 of rectangular crosssection and of such dimensions as to slidably fit in the channel of guiding portion 3. Guiding portion 3 is provided also with a rectangular elongated slot 8, of smaller height than the distance between faces 4 and 5, but centered with respect thereto, said slot extending entirely through the portion 3 from the vertical face 6 to the rear face of portion 3 and defining upper and lower horizontal guide faces 9 and In, respectively. Plate 1 has a rearwardly-extending portion which fits slidably in this slot 8, said portion being of smaller area than the front portion of plate 1 which fits in the channel of guiding 1 portion 3. Mounting member H, which carries the active portions of the feeding device, is secured to plate! by means of a bolt l2 which passes through plate I and is threaded into member 'I II Member H is a relatively thin member 2 having a larger surface area than plate 1, and it is held tightly against the outer surface of plate l and the front outer face of guiding portion 3 by means of a spring 13 which is under com 7 pression, one end of said spring bearing against a washer I4 which engages the rear face of portion 3 and the other end of said spring bearing against the head of bolt l2. It may therefore be seen that member ll is supported for sliding movement in a horizontal direction by means of plate I which slides in stationary guiding portion 3.

Upper and lower jaws l5 and it, respectively, having clamping surfaces It and 18, respectively, which are adapted to be brought into engagement, are mounted on member ll. Jaws i5 and iii are relatively elongated and the surfaces I l and 18 thereof are each adjacent one end of the corresponding jaws. Upper jaw 15, at its end which is remote from its clamping surface ll, is mounted for free rotation on a pin l9 which is firmly attached to member Ii. Lower jaw H6, at its end which is remote from its clamping surface I8, is mounted for rotation about a pin 20 which is fixed to member I I, said pin 26 being provided with a clamping member whereby jaw !6 may be firmly clamped in any desired angular position with respect to said pin 25:. The rear edges of jaws l5 and it are maintained spaced from the front surface of mounting member H by any suitable means, such as by means of collars on pins !9 and 28.. The clamping end of lower jaw 16 is rendered vertically adjustable with respect to member. H by means of bolt 2! which is'threadedly mounted in an outwardlyprojecting member 22 integral with member H, the upper end of said bolt bearing against the lower surface of theclamping end of lower jaw it. Any suitable means of maintaining bolt 2! in its desired adjusted position may be provided. Spring 23, which is placed under tension in response to the movement of clamping end of upper jaw l5 downwardly about pin i9, is attached at one end to pin 24, which is fixed to member ii, and is attached at its other end to the upper jaw, l5.

A pin 25.is mounted at the center of a circular collar 26, said collar being firmly or rigidly attached, to mountingmember H by means of screws 21. A shaft 28 has an eccentrically-locate d aperture therethrough, by means of which said shaft may be mounted on said pin 25 for rotation with respect thereto, said shaft being maintained in position on said pin 25 by means 3 of a screw 29, threaded into the end of said pin, and bearing against the outer face of said shaft. Shaft has an outer portion of a certain diameter, and an inner portion of a lesser diameter. The inner raceway 39 of a ball-bearing structure is rigidly mounted on the inner portion of shaft 28. This ball-bearin structure includes an inner raceway 3%, an outer raceway 3|, and a, plurality of balls 32 therebetween. The outer surface of outer raceway 3| of this ball-bearing structure is so positioned as to be at all times in rolling contact with the upper face of upper jaw I 5. Due to the fact that shaft 28 is eccentrically mounted on pin 29, when said. shaft 28. is rotated, the ball-bearing structure will be moved downwardly or upwardly to rotate upper jaw I into and out of engagement with lower. jaw I5, about its pivot pin I9.

In order to produce partial rotation ofv shaft 28 in two opposite directions, to thereby force jaw I5 into and out of engagement with jaw I5, a connecting rod structure is provided. A disk 33, driven at a uniform rate during operation of the device, has a, diametrically-extending slot 34 therein. Slidably mounted in slot 34 is a structure carrying a pivot pin 35, said pivot. pin being adjustable to various positions with respect to the center of disk 33, and said pin 35 being fixed in various positions by fastening means 36. Pivotally mounted on pin 35 is a connecting rod 31, 1

of any suitable length. The opposite end of connecting rod 31 from disk 33 is pivotally connected, by means of a pin 38, to a fastening member 39, which is in turn fastened to shaft 28. Fastening member 39 includes a split ring portion 40, which is ada ted to be slipped over shaft 28, and. to be fastened thereto by means of. fastening means 4|, and a rearwardly-proiecting stop or abutment member 42. It will be seen that, when fastening member 39 is securely fastened to shaft 28, and when pin 35 is displaced with respect to. the center of disk rotation of disk 33 will produce. a rotation of shaft 28 through a certain angle, and successively in opposite directions, thereby forcing jaw I 5 downwardly into engagement with jaw I5, and then allowing the jaw I5 to be pulled upwardly away from engagement with jaw I6 by the action of spring 23. Due to thefactthat fastening member 39 includes a split-ring portion 40 which fastens around shaft 28, the relative angular posit ons of shaft 28 and. fastening member 39 be adjusted or varied. An adjustable stop member 46 is disposed in the path of movement of abutment 42. This stop member 44 is threadedly mounted in a bracket 43 which is. rigidly attached to mounting member II.

A description of operation of the device to feed wire from a spool not shown but to the left of the device will now be given. Disk 33 is rotated in the clock ise direction, and Fig. 3 shows the relative ositions of the elements when pin 35 is in its left dead-center position with respect to disk while Fig. 2 shows. the relative positions. of the elements when pin 25 is in its right deadcenter position with respect to. disk Starting from the position of Fig. 3, and with disk 33 revolving in the clockwise direction, rod 3! will first be moved to the right, rotating shaft 28 about pin 25 in the clockwise direction. Due to the eccentric mounting of shaft 28 on pin 25, as shaft 28 is rotated in a. clockwise. direction, the outer raceway 3| will, due to. its contact with. the upper surface of upper jaw I5, force said jaw I5 downwardly toward jaw I6. Jaw [Swill con-- tinue to be forced downwardly in response to the rotation of shaft 28 in the clockwise direction, until clamping portions I1 and I8 of jaws I5 and I6 come into engagement, or are separated only b the thickness of the stock being fed. When the jaws come into engagement, the rotation of shaft 28 in the clockwise direction is stopped. However, due to the. fact that pin 35 has not yet reached its right-hand dead-center position with respect to disk 33, and that rod 31 is therefore continuing to move to the right, the entire mounting member II, with the elements mounted thereon, will now be moved bodily to the right in response to the movement of rod 31. This is permitted because mounting member II, as stated above, is supported for sliding movement in the guide ways of guiding portion 3. Due to the fact that the mounting member I I is moved bodily in a horizontaldirection, jaws I 5 and I6 are also moved horizontally, thereby feeding the stock in a horizontal direction to the machine to which the stockis to be fed. By adjusting the position of pin 35. in slot 35 with respect to the center of disk 33, the amountof movement of mounting member I I in the horizontal direction may be adjusted and may be made to have any desired value. The pressure with which jaws I5 and I6 are forced into engagement may be regulated by varying the angular position of fastening mem- 39'with respect to shaft 28.

Mounting member I I will continue to be moved bodily to the right until pin 35 has come to the right-hand dead-center position with respect to disk 33, which is the position of. the elements as shown in Fig. 2. Continued rotation of disk 33 from the right-hand dead-center position shown in Fig. 2 will cause rod 3'. to be moved to the left. Movement of rod 37 to the left will cause a counter-clockwise rotation of shaft 28. As shaft 28 is rotated counter-clockwise, the downward pressure which was applied against the top surface of top jaw I5 will be released, due to the eccentric position of pin 25 with respect to shaft 28 and the resultant upward movement of outer raceway 3| of the ball-bearing structure. Outer raceway 3I of the ball-bearing structure will be moved upwardly, allowing upper jaw I5 to be drawn upwardly out of engagement with lower jaw I6, by the tension of spring 23. As fastening member and shaft ZBcontinue to move in the counterclockwise direction about" pin 25, abutment 42 will come in contact with stop 44, preventing further rotation of shaft 28. However, rod 31 is still movingtoward the left, due to the fact that pin 35 has not yet-reached its left dead-center posifloor: with respect to disk 33. Due to the engagement' of abutment 42 with stop 44 (said abutment being integral with fastening member 39), continued movement of rod 3! toward the left i l cause the mounting member II and all of the elementscarried thereby to be moved to the left. Member 'II is allowed to move bodily to the left in a horizontal plane, due to the fact that it is supported for slidable movement in guiding portion 3. Movement of mounting member II toward the left will also, of course, cause the jaws I 5 and It to be moved to the'left.

When the pin. 35 has as shown in Fig. 3, reached its left-hand dead-center position with respect to disk 33, the jaws I5 and I B will be widely separated, and the mounting member II will be displaced to the left from. its position as showninFig. 2. Movement of jaws I5 and I6 to the left, as shown in Fig. 3, allows a fresh. bite to be obtained on the stock being fed, so that when the jaws l and [6 are again forced together, 1 as explained above, a new length of stock may be effectively fed toward the right by movement of mounting member H and jaws l5 and It to the right.

Continuous rotation of disk 33 will therefore first cause the jaws I5 and It to be forced into engagement, after which the jaws, together with the stock gripped thereby, .will be moved toward the right, to feed the stock to another machine, after which the jaws l5 and IE will be released, and thereafter said jaws will be moved toward the left to get a fesh bite on the stock to be fed.

Due to the fact that a ball-bearing is used to force the jaws l5 and together, the outer raceway of said ball-bearing rolls into and out of engagement with the upper surface of upper jaw i 5, thereby producing a gentle biting effect on:

the stock, and not producing appreciable injury of the stock. By the use of this invention, uni- H form lengths of stock may be fed from a stock when pin 35. is positioned directly above or below the center of disk 33. As stated above, the rela-' tive displacement of pin with respect to the center of disk 33 may be varied by :moving the element which carries pin 35 radially in slot 34 of disk 33, after which said element may be fastened in the desired position by fastening means 36. Also, as stated above, the relative angular position of fastening member 39 and of shaft 28 may be varied.

The length of adjustable stop 46 with respect to the travel of abutment 42 may be varied, in order to center the travel of member I I, with respect to the vertical position of pin 35 above or below the center of disk 33. In the device of this invention, a maximum stroke of one inch may be obtained, with a minimum stroke of as small as one-tenth of an inch, for example. The term stroke, as used herein, refers to the amount of horizontal movement of mounting member I l, or, in other words, the amount of stock fed toward the right on each "bite of jaws l5 and l 5, and each movement of mounting member I l.

Of course, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular details as described above, as many equivalents will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. It is accordingly desired that the appended claims be given a broad interpretation commensurate with the scope of this invention within the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A device of the character described, including, in combination, a mounting member, means supporting said member for sliding movement, a pair of jaws mounted on said member, one of said jaws being stationary with respect to said member and the other of said jaws being pivotally movable relative to said member into and out of engagement with said one jaw, a pin attached to said member, a ball-bearing structure having inner and outer raceways, a shaft fixed to said inner raceway and having a cylindrical portion projecting outwardly therefrom, said shaft having an eccentrically-located aperture therethrough for gageable with said other jaw to move said other jaw into engagement with said one jaw, a mem- 5 her having a split-ring portion fastened around the outwardly-projecting portion of said shaft,

and means for producing rotation of said latter member.

2. A device of the character described, includ-- ing, in combination, a mounting member, means supportingssaid member for sliding movement, a

. pair of jaws mounted on said member, one of said jaws being capable of vertical adjustment with respect to said member but being stationary with respect to said member during operation of the device and the other of said jaws being pivotally movable relative to said member into and out of engagement with said one jaw, a pin attached to said member, a ball-bearing structure having inner and outer raceways, a shaft fixed to said inner raceway and having a cylindrical portion projecting outwardly therefrom, said shaft having an eccentrically-located aperture therethrough for mounting said shaft on said pin for rotation with respect thereto, said outer raceway being engageable with said other jaw to move said other jaw into engagement with said one jaw, a memberhaving a split-ring portion fastened around the outwardly-projecting portion at said shaft, and means for producing rotation of said latter member.

3. A device of the character described, including, in combination, a mounting member, means supporting said member for sliding movement, a pair of jaws mounted on said member, one of said jaws being capable of vertical adjustment with respect to said member but being stationary having inner and outer raceways, a shaft fixed to said inner raceway and having a cylindrical portion projecting outwardly therefrom, said shaft having an eccentrically-located aperture therethrough for mounting said shaft on said pin for rotation with respect thereto, said outer raceway being engageable with said other jaw to move said other jaw into engagement with said one jaw, a member having a split-ring portion fastened around the outwardly-projecting portion of said shaft, and means for producing partial rotation of said latter member successively in opposite directions.

4. A device of the character described, including, in combination, a mounting member, means supporting said member for sliding movement, a pair of jaws mounted on said member, one of said jaws being capable of vertical adjustment with respect to said member but being stationary with respect to said member during operation of the device and the other of said jaws being pivotally movable relative to said member into and out of engagement with said one jaw, a pin attached to said member, a ball-bearing structure having inner and outer raceways, a shaft fixed to said inner raceway and having a cylindrical portion projecting outwardly therefrom, said shaft having an eccentrically-located aperture therethrough for mounting said shaft on said pin for rotation with respect thereto, said outer raceway being engageable with said other jaw to move said other jaw into engagement with said one jaw, a member having a split-ring portion fasmounting said shaft on said pin for rotationwitlr I respect thereto, said outer raceway being enwith respect to said member during operation of tened around. the outwardly-projecting, portion.

of said shaft and a rearwardly-extendingabutjment portion, means for producing; partial rota tion of said latter member successively in opposite directions, and a stop member. securedto said first-mentioned member: and disposed in the path of movement of said abutment portion.

5. A device of the character described, including, in combination, a mounting member, means supporting said member for sliding movement, a.

pair of jaws mounted on said member, one of said=-.

jaws being capable of vertical adjustment with respect to said member but being stationary with respect to said member during operationof the said pin for rotation with respect thereto, said outer raceway being engageable with said other jaw to move said other jaw into engagement with said one jaw, a member having a split'-ring'por'-- tion fastened around theoutwardly-projecting" portion of said shaft and a rearwardly-extending abutment portion, means for producing par tial rotation of said latter'member successively in opposite directions, and a stop member secured to said first-mentioned member and disposed in the path of movement of said abutment a portion.

6. A device of the character described; includ ing, in combination, a mounting member, means supporting said member for sliding movement; a pair of jaws mounted on said member, one of said jaws being mounted for pivotal adjustment withfrespect'tu said memberbutbeing stationary with'respect' to said member during operation of the device and. the otherof said jaws being pivotally'movable relative to said member into and out i of engagement with said one jaw, spring means attached to said other jaw for biasing said other jaw out of engagement with said one jaw, a. pin attached to said; member, a ball-bearing structure havinginner and outer raceways, a shaft fixed to said inner raceway and having a cylindrical portion. projecting outwardly therefrom, said shaitwhaving an eccentrically-located aperture therethrough' for mounting said shaft on said pin for rotation with respect thereto, said outer It raceway being engageable with said other jaw to move said other jaw into engagement with said one-"jaw,a member having a split-ring portion fastenedaround the outwardly-projecting portion of. said shaft and a rearwardlyrextending,

l0 abutment portion, means for producing partial rotation. of saidlatter member successively in 0p.- posite directions, and a stop member secured to said first-mentioned member and disposed in the path'of movement of said abutment portion.

' CARL T. BLUME.v

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this atent: a p

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